Bombertech

I'm assuming you didn't see my email yet! Put me in the loony bin too, lol

Indeed, we need a shipping swap group!

oh, one other thing to consider... Acrylic optics result in a 10% loss of light. Lower wavelengths violet/UV result in much higher losses.

Interesting to note: You're looking at a 16% increase in efficacy running the Cree's at 1W which is a pretty big deal. With 3, 1W XT-E's you get the same lumenous output as a single XT-E overdriven at say 5W's. Now technically, the XT-E was designed to run at 1W and 3W's is called overdrive... So, it really depends on the LED, and couldn't be a blanket statement "running leds at 1W is more efficient", however, the lion's share of LED's designed in the 2012-2013 timeframe were deisgned around 1W having the highest efficacy (which is the efficiency of an LED taking lumens or mW over input wattage, crossing below 470nm blue we use mW versus lumens). However, payback on the initial cost doesn't justify doing this on most diodes when you consider technological advances year over year. But, it makes sense with the design aspects of this fixture (100% passive cooling, uniform light spread).

All "deep water" zoas, do a lot better with minimal light above 500nm. They grow at seafoam paly speed if the light is correct. Colony growth slows WAY down after 30ish heads. Fruit Loops, hornets, etc...

Water quality and light color will effect both of those. How do they look in the morning with just the blue channel on? How are you doing on water changes? How stable is your tank? Any brown algae on the stalks of the zoas?

If you can give the pods enough space to breed. Tons and tons of rubble...

Ah yes, a catch 22... You need money in to research but don't have in without product out. Also, Chinese COB's are the pinnacle of LED in-efficiency. 30-50%... BUT, everyone has their needs/priorities and you can't argue with that.

the acan has a stronger sting but the palys have zombie numbers in time... I'd move it.

The spectrum is fairly legit, very similar to an 18K MH. I'd opt for the kessil though. OR... in that size, a DIY fixture with the original storm controller.

Personally, no. I would not be intersted in another chinese led fixture. I feel we need to get past the false satisfaction we find in spending less up front on low quality chinese leds. The old adage, "you get what you pay for" couldn't be more true. Why try to save a couple hundred bucks by buying a cheap fixture for your several thousand dollars worth of coral, only to "decide" you don't like the results and chock it up to "LEDs are bad", then switch to T5/MH... Who's doing the spectral research? I know it's not the chinese manufacturers, they are just copying anything they possibly can, with bad results I might add... Now, don't get me wrong, both the local vendors of entry level fixtures make due with what they have available to hit their desired price points. I also tip my hat at the fact that they are trying to get decent binning on the diodes they do get. With time, I think they will evolve closer to the middle ground as demand warrants/shifts. With that, I say "thank you" to Bo and Kenny, keep pushing boys. We're stuck with 2 very polarized options when we should be getting what we truely want, problem is, we don't know what we don't know... Majority of options available: Cheap Chinese Fixtures - Low efficacy, usually 40-70% depending on spectrum and this is at the top of the efficiency curve!! Diode spectral QA/QC is low and I've seen some pretty far off shifts. Drivers use current modulation for dimming which causes even more spectral shift and can put the efficency way lower on the curve. Spectral shift can lead to algae/cyano blooms, coral bleaching, etc. Improper diode placement helps combat hot spots but causes the disco shadowing we've become accustomed to. High heat due to the low efficiency/efficacy leads to light output decline. Bad overall spectrum, the amount of research put into these fixtures is a quick google of higher end ones and a copy paste. Differences in manufacturers diodes (spectral and efficacy differences) prevents this from being anything close to a valid idea. Desired lighting temperature color (kelvin rating) is a variable, there are an infinate amount of ways to reach it. There are a lot of really inefficent/improper ways to do so as well. High End Fixtures - These use higher quality diodes but taylor the light to fit the largest demographic possible. They get around this fact with multiple dimming channels. Who runs their fixture at 100%? I do applaud kessil for offering a couple different color options but that's about it. Unnecessary interface options bloat the cost. Revisions are incremental as if the entire industry is part of a conspiring union trying to milk out as much money as they possibly can with each minute change. I would be okay with that if they had at least pushed towards max potential first. In an attempt to maximize profit, lowest design cost to acheive decent performance is typical. But, as any descision, this comes with a price tag. Here's what I would buy: A light that put spectrum first taylored for coral coloration, efficency close second, light spread/diffusion up to par with MH/T5, and bells/whistles optional. Sounds an awful lot like the T5 fixtures we are so accustomed to... Here's why: When I buy a frag/colony/nem, I want it to have the best color it possibly can, I want good growth too. Why spend a LOT of money on coral just to have it be ho hum? If lackluster coral was desired, poo brown zoas, acans, and sps would fetch a darling price.

Woohoo! Sporting the hydro tray frag tank no less!

Perfect, sounds like he's got you covered

I've had more issues with amphipods... BUT, I pull the astrinas when I see them too.

Crud on your heat exchanger acts as an insulator which causes your light to run at a higher temperature. If the junction is hotter, the light emmited is less (thermal runaway). This is both an instantaneous problem and a long term issue. Long term it can lead to emitter degradation/failure. the failed leds need replaced, the overall dimness is what it is with the exception of high running temperature issues (if it is causing enough output drop to be noticable). Failed diodes can short dimming the channel, othertimes cause enough voltage drop to lower the overall voltage making the light seem dim. An hour alone with a multimeter (preferably with diode testing built in) and you should have it down to the root cause.

Haha, yeah, its funny, those two plugs are near identical.

Sweet! Thanks!

PM me next time the green splits. I'm not making a trip your way for a couple weeks :(

Dirty HX's can cause this, PM me if you need some help

There was a guy on the Central Oregon Reef Keeping FB Page selling a pair of Arctics for $200 yesterday, was switching back to MH/T5's I believe.

Jeeze, called out!! Yes, certain nem's versus zoas, nems win for sure on brightness. Rainbow Inferno versus rockstars in this pic, clear winner... Pics with my phone and fixture at 25,000 Kelvin. I don't like to take pics with just the "blue" channel on becuase you loose a lot of the flourescent pigments. Almost everything is really bright if you give it time. I guess brightness would be factored by color as your eye picks up orange more easily. So, orange would be: BBEB's Then, Clarkatoas Then this funky mushroom (oh, and the Utter Chaos too) Then this other rhodactis that I really like, sorry, the previous mushroom reminded me of it... Then Raptor Rainbows when lit properly which are more yellow Oh, and Wowzers. Pic below next to the BBEB's. Sorry, was trying to get a pic of the clown hosting the CAR's. The rockstars are always nice. Here's a pic from the archives the wifey took on her legitimate camera. Nice orange, but I really like the violet and cyan to blue transition of the lash base on these. For unique color brightness I'd have to say one of my favorites is the GB Jupiter. A nice Hyper Violet/Pink with neon green. At first I thought they were just ho-hum, but the color got really bright over the span of 3-4 months. It's a shame Neptunes Cove hyped the crap out of these (NC Queen Krakatoa) and ruined it for everyone. Pic is under full blues, I snapped this pic late one evening :(

Hmm... Tough choice... I'm going to have to think on this one for a little while. First thing that comes to mind is the BBEB's and my Utter Chaos. The Utters have a different coloration than most I see.

Forgive my ignorance on Cardinal specific fry raising techniques as I've only researched clowns, BUT, have you looking into using Reed Mariculture TDO? It's a dry food that you use following a few days of rots to get the feeding response going. it's worth a google. Congrats!!

I run my tanks with covers as well. Humidity here can average 15% for months. Air intake for the skimmer takes care of gas exchange just fine.

Sure, when you're tank is all settled in, give me a shout.